We Are Timeless
by heytherehero
Summary: Things have finally begun to settle down for the KKs: DSI is in full swing, and things are pretty quiet on the OT front for once. Both Finn and Amanda are sure of their feelings for the other, but neither are ready to give up that secret all too willingly. But could a date to the past change their future? SPOILERS FOR LITERALLY ALL THE KK BOOKS, especially the Syndrome and Return.
1. Chapter 1

We Are Timeless – A Kingdom Keepers Story

"Sneaking out after dark," Finn could hear the smirk in her voice over the phone. "I don't know, Finn…"

Amanda so did know. Finn took the bait. "C'mon," he said in his best persuasive voice. "You _have_ to. I mean, uh, it's just…" Finn couldn't think of a way to end the sentence, without giving anything away, such as location, plans, _feelings_ – it was getting harder and harder to conceal the latter, Finn was discovering.

The silence dragged on, and Amanda didn't even try to fill it. The silence felt important; she was waiting for Finn to finish that sentence. He could practically see her in his mind's eye, an eyebrow raised over an unconvinced expression. "We hang out all the time, but it's not like it's ever… you know…"

Amanda seriously wasn't making this easier for him. He wanted to stop, but then the silence would continue, and her lack of response was clearly her prodding him on. _Get on with it, you idiot!_ Finn never failed at losing all forms of brain-to-mouth communication around her.

"It's never just you and I," Finn began. "And we've never even really hung out, without the others lately, just us…" He was awful at explaining things. The pressure of what he was trying to say – and was currently failing at – suffocated him.

Amanda finally spoke, her smooth voice filling up his ears. "Are you…"

"Yes."

"You don't even know what I was going to say-"

"A date." Finn cleared his throat. "I am asking you, Amanda Lockhart, out on a date."

"A… date…" Amanda seemed to be thinking over the words, the way she said them so cautiously.

"Yeah." Finn scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He just messed things up. He knew he did. _Idiot idiot idiot!_ The mantra sang in his head. Soon, it was broken up by Dillard's last words "If you don't take a chance, you don't have a chance." He'd done the right thing – no stopping this train now. Finn's stomach flipped painfully, waiting for Amanda to say something – _anything_ – to pull him out of this torture.

"It's a date," Amanda said again. Finn wasn't sure what he was hearing in her voice: Indifference? Disgust?

"Yeah, that's what I said." Finn was confused. Obviously, Amanda had heard him clearly, since she kept saying the words. "It's a date-"

"It's a date!" She sounded… happy. Amanda laughed out loud. Now he could hear the smile in her voice. "A date!" She said, yet again.

"Yeah!" Amanda's joy was infectious; he laughed away the butterflies and the knot in his stomach lessened.

"Finn Whitman, do you know how long I've been waiting for you to ask me on a date? Like, officially?"

"Ah…" Finn couldn't think of any numbers. His brain felt numb from giddiness.

"A _very_ long time!" Amanda laughed again. He loved it when she laughed, like the sound of sparkling chimes.

"Well, great!"

"So… where are we going? You said something about sneaking out of DSI? Not gonna lie, Finn, but sneaking out doesn't sound exactly like a typical first date. Not that I expect typical from us. I mean, we break the rules all the time! Ah," She was beginning to ramble. It made Finn smile. "Not typical is good, too, though! But… _sneaking out_? Where would we go? Taco Bell? The McDonald's around the street that's open for twenty-four hours?"

"Oh, yeah… right, about that…" The sneaking out thing sounded more mischievous out loud. And, now that Finn thought about it, what they were about to do was not exactly _sneaking out_ – not really, at least. "Well, first of all, it's a surprise. Second of all, you'll probably guess what it is after I tell you that, third of all, you should probably ask Willa to borrow one of her dresses."

"Willa? But I have dresses I could wear if I wanted to, Finn. I don't need to-"

"For where we're going, you'll need to borrow one of Willa's. Or Charlene's. Since, you know…"

Finn heard Amanda suck in a breath from the other side of the line. "YOU ARE NOT-"

"Get dressed, fall asleep, cross over and I'll meet you in the Park in thirty minutes!" Finn quickly hung up, giving Amanda no time to argue. Finn laughed, imagining Amanda's fuming face from his hang up. But she probably wasn't too mad, as she didn't even try to call back.

Putting on a vintage suit, something quite dated that still maintained a classy edge, he tried several times to stop smiling. Several times, he failed. The smile plastered onto his face was as permanent as Amanda was locked in his heart. Both, he knew, would never be leaving anytime soon.

Finn lied down on his bed – he'd been lucky enough to get a room all to himself at the DSI, a special exception that most of the fellow DSI students grumbled to him about. But he didn't care. Earlier that day, Finn had run his date idea by Philby, asking him to help set up the cross over. All that was left to do now was fall asleep. Usually, it was an easy thing; he'd gotten so accustomed to falling asleep at a moment's notice over the years that it happened instantaneously.

But now, it proved to be a much more difficult task: he couldn't get his brain to shut off, couldn't calm down. Excitement mingled in the corners of his mind. Amanda. He imagined a million ways that the night could go wrong; he imagined a million more ways that the night could go right. His eyelids grew heavy. His thoughts became muddled and hazy. Finn slipped off into sleep.

* * *

Finn shivered in the cool California night air, a slight chill on the breeze. Warm orbs of light glowed all around him. A pole shot straight into the dark abyss of the sky, a flag flapping above. He felt disoriented. The last thing he remembered was talking on the phone. Amanda. Falling asleep…

 _Oh_.

Finn stood up from his previous position of lying on the concrete. He looked all around at his surroundings. He was in Town Square, Disneyland. Down Main Street, the Sleeping Beauty Castle was painted pink and blue, its walls glowing. The crossover had been successful – but if that was the case, then why was he here alone? Where was Amanda? He pulled out his phone, his hand shimmering in its hologram state. He'd fallen asleep in time. At this point, Amanda was several minutes late.

Finn checked his phone again, nerves suddenly tumbling through his stomach. Thoughts swirled through his head. What if she had decided she didn't want to go on this date – that she and he were better off friends? Had Finn overstepped? Amanda would have at least texted him if she had decided that she didn't want this – whatever _this_ was. Friendship, but not friendship – something. Something worth trying, something worth everything, Finn knew. She was everything. She was worth everything.

No texts. He guessed that meant the date was still on. Finn slipped his phone back into a deep pocket inside the old crisp suit, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Finn saw a shimmer of light out of the corner of his eye. He tore his gaze away from the castle and Main Street, whirling around.

His breath caught in his throat.

Amanda stepped toward him, out of the shadows into the warm light, and it was like he was looking at a different person; but somehow, still the same – like it was Prom night all over again. His mind flashed back to the lights, the noise, Amanda: she had been the sun, then. She was light and everything that soared and bent around it. Finn had never wanted that night to end, and they'd come so close to taking the next step, so close to something more than just the word _friends_ … that word felt too constricting, now. Too limiting. What they had reached deep – far deeper – than that.

But now, here was Amanda, a whole few months later, and this time no longer was she the sun, but the moon and a thousand twinkling stars in a night sky. Her chiffon dress in the style of the late fifties reached to her knees, colored the silver of moonlight. Shiny, glittering stars which Finn, upon closer inspection, soon realized were just earrings – not stars at all – glittered from underneath her hair. The blues of her eyes glittered, a coy smile on her lips as she looked up at Finn, taking in his vintage suit and leather shoes.

It had only been moments in Amanda's presence, and Finn found himself having to remind himself to breathe. He started choking on air.

Amanda rushed over, instantly startled. She patted Finn on the back. "Are you okay?"

Finn, now extremely red in the face (both from lack of oxygen and utter embarrassment), nodded his head. He couldn't get a word out; he was having such a hard time catching his breath, while also managing to choke on some more spit. Classy.

Amanda gave a laugh rolled her eyes. She feigned annoyance, but Finn knew what was underneath that look – the friendship they'd shared for years. But was there something more there, now…?

He didn't dare think of it. Finn didn't want to spend another five minutes coughing like a kid who had inhaled too much pool water. _Yeah, what a catch I must be,_ Finn thought. _Catch of the day, right here. With a fishy name to top it all off._

"You're such a dork."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

 _My dork._ Amanda thought. _My Finn_. She restrained herself from saying it out loud, though – she felt the need to keep that a secret.

"Ah, now that I can breathe again, shall we go?" Finn smiled, pink still coloring his cheeks. He offered Amanda his arm. She linked her arm through his, holding him close.

"Are you still not going to tell me where we're off to?" There was a glint of mischief in Amanda's eyes. "I mean, I have a couple guesses, seeing the way we're dressed…"

"That does give it away, a bit, doesn't it?" Finn laughed. He craned his neck, searching in circles all around them. Disneyland had been closed for a while, now. There was no one around, not even security, by the looks of it. Even if that was the case, Finn didn't want to linger too long out in the open, especially now that their DHIs had been booted up. Someone would notice the red flag eventually. He began to walk, Amanda following his lead.

* * *

Up in Walt's apartment, Finn and Amanda stood by the old record player. Finn flipped a switch on the machine. Amanda recalled how in the surveillance camera footage, back when Finn and the others were stuck in SBS, she'd seen him mess with this same machine so many times before. Only now, she knew what they had been doing and what the record player did.

"Once the song starts playing, get ready to run."

Finn was just about to make the song play when she placed a hand on his, stopping him. He looked at her, eyebrows drawn together. "What is it?"

Amanda bit her lip. "What if… what if we get stuck there? Like you guys did, before? I mean, you made it back, but you were gone for over _twelve days_ , Finn. I don't- I just…" Worry shook her voice, fear of the unknown. "I don't want that to happen again."

Finn held Amanda's hand in his and gave her a reassuring smile. "We've got the bugs worked out this time. Plus I've got a backup Return in my pocket." He paused, glanced from the record player back to Amanda. "If you don't want to go, just tell me. I understand-"

"I want to." Amanda cut him off. "Really." She gave a nervous laugh. "I've just never exactly _time travelled_ before. You can't exactly blame me for being nervous about it."

"Not many people can say they have." Finn watched as Amanda bit back a smile, her mood brightening increasingly.

"Ready?"

Amanda gave a firm nod. Curious light brimmed in her eyes. Finn gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

With the flip of a switch, the music began to play. "Here we go…"

And with that, they were off. Finn took off running, Amanda right by his side. They passed through the apartment door, made of nothing but light. Amanda and Finn, hand-in-hand, raced down Main Street, past the glittering lights and the false facades, unable to wipe the grins from their faces. Excitement fluttered in both their chests, hearts beating steadily, the sound of fabric rustling and the stomp of feet filling the unusual silence of the park.

Up ahead, as they approached Sleeping Beauty Castle, twirling light could be seen beyond – King Arthur's Carrousel. It was moving, a song riding the breeze, lifting its way to their ears.

Amanda looked over at Finn, unable to hide her own excitement. His green eyes were bright and earnest, alight with a sense of adventure and discovery. He squeezed her hand yet again as they ran all the harder, passing over the drawbridge and under the castle's opening archway.

 _Almost there, now._ Finn thought. Their holograms passed through the fence guarding off the Carrousel and hopped onto the moving platform. Finn quickly located Jingles. He wasn't sure how much time was left of the song; the quicker, the better. He wasn't sure if any red eyes would be lingering by Mr. Toads Wild Ride, and didn't want to stick around long enough to find out.

Finn held out a hand, helping Amanda settle on Jingles first. She clutched the pole jutting out of the horse for balance as Finn hopped on behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He didn't have a time to have second-thoughts about their closeness, or to even see the blush that painted Amanda's cheeks. The colors around them swirled, murky and mixed. The world appeared lost in a backward motion, like they had fallen into an oil painting, its colors dripping off the walls.

A sinking feeling filled their stomachs as the colors turned dark, both unable to shake the feeling that they were falling, falling, falling...


	2. Chapter 2

Amanda was sitting straight up, her dress spread out around her like the soft petals of a flower. She seemed to be staring at something off in the distance. Balls of Technicolor light floated around her – they reminded Finn of multi-colored bubbles or floating balloons. Pixels, he realized.

Finn sat up, just now coming to his senses. They'd fallen, traveled through time, and now they were here, stuck in an old television. Amanda shifted slightly, noticing Finn had awoken.

"How long have you been waiting?"

"Not long," She replied. "Maybe five minutes."

Finn scrunched his face together. _Odd,_ he thought. He figured he'd be the first to wake, since he had done this before.

"Do you remember anything? From before you woke up here?"

Amanda shrugged, still staring out of the glass into the world beyond. It was dark, save for a desk light that had been left on. No one was in the room; the sheer stillness of it was enough to creep out Finn. He didn't know why Amanda was so set at looking at the room. The dark of it made him feel like a monster was just waiting to pop out, like they were stuck in a horror film.

"Not really," she admitted. Amanda finally turned to look at him. "It's fuzzy, at best. I remember… colors… the carousel. That's about it."

"That's not bad for a first-time time-traveler. The first time the others did this, some of them couldn't remember a thing." His voice grew softer, reverie taking over. "I was so disoriented the first time this happened to me. Thought I was dreaming."

"Yeah. It kind of feels like that."

Amanda was back to staring out at the darkness.

Finn tried to find what she was looking at, but couldn't see anything of importance. "What are you looking at?"

"Huh?" Amanda seemed out of it. Finn's voice seemed to have snapped her back to reality.

"Is there something out there that I don't see? Why are you staring out there like that?"

"Oh." She laughed, suddenly self-conscious. "It's nothing. I was just thinking how _impossible_ this is. On the other side of this screen," Amanda pointed to the glass. "Is the _past_. A whole different _world._ It's unbelievable."

Finn stood and helped Amanda to her feet. "Why don't we go explore it, then? Just you and me?"

He reached for her hand, secured it in his, and they leapt through the screen together.

* * *

The room wasn't nearly as terrifying as the dark made it seem – it was only an empty workshop no doubt located somewhere backstage, the light on the desk still shining some light. Their DHI's sputtered to life – not in the high definition quality of the twenty first century, but it was enough. On the last trip, Wayne had figured out how to not only get color projected holograms, but three-dimensional ones as well. From a distance, Finn and Amanda looked impossibly real, incredibly human. Only upon closer inspection would someone be able to note the almost pixelated quality of their skin and features.

Somehow though, the technology still made them half-human, meaning for what the pixels lacked, their very-real human selves made up for. In fact, the loud thumping of Finn's heart assured him that he was nowhere near an all-clear state of pure hologram light. He was nothing but flesh and bone at the moment. Funny, Finn thought. He figured Amanda's hand in his might have something to do with it.

"We did it," Amanda said breathlessly. She looked between Finn and the television through which they had just jumped through. "We're in the past!"

"Shh!" Finn hushed her. "Not so loud! We don't exactly want the whole world knowing about this – especially since _Back to the Future_ hasn't even been made yet."

" _Doctor Who_ was made around this time, and that's time travel." Amanda countered. She scrunched up her face. "Wait. _When_ exactly are we?"

Finn smirked. "1957. So, technically, even _Doctor Who_ isn't around yet either, since that comes out in the 60s."

"Whatever." She playfully punched Finn on the arm. "Are we getting out of this shed, or what?"

A loud metallic clang and the shuffling of shoes caused both Amanda and Finn to jump. The sound was moving towards them, closer to the workshop.

In the darkness, Amanda and Finn briefly locked eyes. An entire conversation passed between them.

She looked from the door to Finn.

 _What do we do?_

Eyebrows raised, he nodded towards the door, light seeping from beneath it, and a dark, dusty corner in the workshop.

 _Go outside or hide in the corner?_

Amanda weighed the options. Both had pros and cons: hide inside with less of a chance of getting caught, but risk the possibility of being found huddling in a corner in a suspicious position; or go out in the open, unknowing who (or what) would find them and what the consequences may be. If they were caught outside, they'd look suspicious, but less so. The phrase _"it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission,"_ rang in Amanda's head. If they looked ignorant enough, maybe they'd be let off the hook.

"Outside?" Amanda whispered in Finn's ear.

He gave a firm nod in return. No surprise, he and Amanda were on the same page, as always. "I was leaning towards that one, too."

Leading the way through the workshop, Finn opened the door. Both he and Amanda stepped outside, squinting underneath the harsh, bright light of a streetlamp. No shadows. Somehow, they had both managed to go all-clear.

Strange, Finn thought. No one was around.

"What are you kids doin' back here?" A gruff voice jolted them behind, causing both Amanda and Finn to startle. Finn clutched tighter on Amanda's hand as they spun around to greet the owner of the voice. Their shadows spread out before them, now – they'd been scared to full human.

The man before them wasn't terrifying. He was clearly on the older side, with graying hair and dimples in sun weathered skin. Finn guessed that he must have been a construction man of some sort, dressed in old denim overalls covered in different colors of paint, worn leather shoes. Despite the shock from the deep raspy voice, he didn't seem dangerous. But the serious – suspicious, even – look that was plastered onto his face was a whole other story, a whole other problem to quickly fix.

Amanda and Finn shared yet another all-knowing glance.

"Ah…" Finn fished around in his head for some kind of legitimate excuse. "Restroom?"

The man looked them over underneath a scrutinizing eye. He seemed to pause on Finn and Amanda's interlocked hands and raised an eyebrow as he met both of their eyes once again.

"This is backstage, folks. Off limits. There aren't any restrooms for the public back here, but I'd be happy to show you to one inside the Park." A small smile appeared.

"Oh, thank you, sir. That'd be great." Finn said sincerely. More than anything, he was just happy to avoid trouble. He wanted this night to go perfect.

The man led both Amanda and Finn into the Parks, out from behind the backstage area. They arrived on Main Street. The Cast Member entrance into the Park was closer than Finn would have guessed, but then again, it was difficult to know (or recognize) anything in the dark about this Disneyland of the past, more so than usual. The man – his Cast Member name tag read "Gus" – helpfully pointed out the nearest bathrooms and kindly warned them not to go backstage again. Amanda thanked him as he left.

Finally, Amanda and Finn were left alone. Only, they weren't alone – hundreds of teenagers milled around them in suits like Finn's and long chiffon dresses like Amanda's. Yet again Amanda was struck with the realization: they were in the _past._ She felt her jaw go slack in wonderful astonishment as she took in the sights. Everything was the same, except it _wasn't_ – it was a different kind of familiarity. Newer. More authentic. Her eyes must have been the size of saucers, the way she looked at everything as if she was trying to memorize it all before it evaporated in before her eyes.

Warm lights burned in the street sign for the Emporium. Streetlamps illuminated the streets in a starry-glow. Conversation and laughter lifted on the breeze, filling Amanda's ears. A steam whistle. The clanking of a bell. The smell of popcorn. The summer night air was balmy against her skin. Everything about it all felt utterly intoxicating.

As Amanda soaked in the sights and sounds, Finn watched her reaction all the while, amused. Her whole countenance lit up, jaw slack, eyes wide. There were stars in her eyes, stars in her hair. Everything about Amanda was alight with life. He couldn't help but smile, couldn't keep the wide grin off his face.

He knew all too well how astonishingly amazing it was to be in the past to begin with – but being here with Amanda by his side? Even in just the few short moments that they had been there, it was infinitely better. He had missed her so much. Being able to experience it all over again – this time, with her at his side, like it was supposed to be – felt right. He fought the urge to reach out to her.

Finally, Amanda tore her eyes away from the sights and looked over at Finn. "This is _completely_ unreal. I'm dreaming. In fact, I'd say this is _by far_ the most realistic dream I've ever had in my life – and that's saying something, considering crossing over as a DHI."

"Oh, it's real." Finn beamed. "And it's just the beginning of the night."

Amanda raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound as if you have a plan."

"Oh, I have a plan, alright!" Finn reached into his suit pocket and pulled out some multi-colored pastel papers – attraction tickets, Amanda realized. "What, you don't think I do my research before going into the past, now, do you?"

Amanda laughed hard. "You are unbelievable, Finn Whitman." She grabbed the tickets from his hands, eyes skimming over the printed ink.

"'Date nite.'" Amanda read from the card. She scrunched her face together, then rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me – _Finn_."

"I told you, I do my research!"

Amanda fought back the smile on her face, shook her head as she ran a finger over the paper once more. It listed an endless amount of activities that the park offered as a part of the special Date Nite event – _"a fun and romantic evening of thrills under the moonlight and stars."_

"Okay. You have clearly put _a lot_ of _thought_ out into this date, and honestly, I'm impressed. I mean, time travel is a feat in itself, but as of right now, this is a pretty close second." She placed the tickets back in Finn's hands and linked her arm through his. "So, since you've clearly got this whole date thing planned out, what's next?"

Amanda looked up at him through the tops of her eyes, pools of shimmering blue. Finn stared down into them, feeling himself want to sink into them, into her. His stomach was doing flips – she was too close, and he was too far, all at the same time. He held himself back from drowning, cleared his throat as he looked off into Town Square, off into Main Street and beyond.

"Ah," Finn cleared his throat. "Don't want to spoil the evening! It's a surprise." He paused, contemplating. "But, that popcorn sure smells pretty good right about now."

"Ice cream." Amanda said, with newfound earnest. There was a kind of curious determination in her eyes as she looked at him. "I absolutely need to know if ice cream in the past tastes different from ice cream in the future."

Finn nodded his head in agreement. "Ice cream."

Linked arm-in-arm, Amanda and Finn walked off of the sidewalk and into the flow of the crowd on the streets, a slight spring in their step. There were teens their age everywhere, all dressed in stylish suits of the past and dazzling dresses of yesterday. They blended right in – just another couple of the fifties, out-and-about underneath the dreamy spectacle that was Disneyland after dark.

* * *

The two sat inside the Carnation Ice Cream Parlor at a table beside a window that overlooked Main Street. Busy with other sugar craving stomachs, they'd been lucky to snag a window seat – the place was lively with talk and chatter and the clanging spoons.

Amanda piled ice cream onto her spoon, and Finn did the same. Finn was just about to shove the entire thing into his mouth when he stopped, spoon halfway to his lips, jaw slack. He knit his eyebrows together, confused.

Amanda didn't look like she wanted to eat the ice cream. Rather, she held it up on the spoon, in front of her face just watching it. Her eyes flicked from Finn then back to the scoop of fast-melting ice cream.

"It's not gonna jump out and attack you, if that's what you're wondering."

She moved the spoon out of her field of vision and finally focused on Finn. "I was just…" Amanda shook her head. "Never mind. It's not important." She held up the spoon once again. "Time to put this ice cream to the test."

Finn nodded his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "Count of three."

"One-"

"Two-"

"Three!" Both shoved the spoons into their mouths. Creamy cold instantly flooded their senses as they savored the sweetness.

"Oh my-" Finn instantly dove his spoon into the bowl for another bite, Amanda's spoon knocking into his as she did the same.

"That was-!" Sharing their lone bowl of classic vanilla with molten fudge cascading down its sides, neither Finn nor Amanda was capable of finishing a sentence.

Before they knew it, they were staring at the bottom of a cleaned bowl. Finn fought back a look of disappointment as he dipped his spoon into nothing but air.

"Dang." He breathed. "Verdict?"

"This ice cream was definitely better than any of the stuff at the Frozen Marble," She nodded. "And that's saying something."

"Agreed." Finn caught Amanda staring out the window, warm lamplight causing her features to glow. He cleared his throat. "Ready for round two?"

She tore her gaze away from all of the teens that were walking down the street outside the window.

"Round _two_?" She let out a staccato of a laugh. "Finn, that ice cream was possibly the best thing I've ever tasted, but isn't a second bowl overdoing it?"

Finn looked like he'd been slapped in the face. "A second bowl…?" He mumbled. "Oh!" Understanding flooded his features as he grinned. Laughing, he said, "No! I definitely don't need more ice cream." He pointed two thumbs over his shoulder. "Exploring. Outside. With you?"

A sheepish smile took over his once confident demeanor as he stood up and offered her his hand. Amanda, shaking her head and smiling, took it, standing on her feet. She brushed off her skirts, linking arms with Finn, their shoes clicking across the floor as they walked out the door.

* * *

Finn shook his head violently. "Nope! No, Amanda, we are _not_ doing that."

Walking down Main Street, they were currently in debate over what attraction to go on, and Finn wasn't trusting most.

Amanda feigned innocence and disappointment. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're afraid of teacups, too."

There were a lot of things that Finn wasn't too fond of: Rollercoasters. Heights. Snakes. The Mad Tea Party attraction (for very plausible reasons, mind you). "As a matter of fact, I am. Deathly afraid of teacups. And tea. And anything remotely British. That's why I can't stand Philby, most days."

"Ha!" Amanda covered her mouth with her hands, as if that would hide the escaped laugher. Too late. The smirk that plastered Finn's face was probably permanent now, and all because she'd let a laugh slip – especially one about Philby. During early high school days, Finn used to rant relentlessly to Amanda about Keeper politics and how Philby unreasonably tried to usurp the role of leader. " _Finn!_ "

Finn shrugged. "What? It's not like he's around to hear. And we're cool now, anyway, so I can joke about it." He nudged her in the side. "The OTs may be gone now, but I, for one, am not taking any chances."

"I understand not going on the dark rides," Amanda shivered. "Those are beyond creepy. But the teacups? Those are out in the open air!" She paused. "Well, what do you want to do?"

"Ah," Finn scratched his head.

"You don't have a better idea."

"As of right now, no."

"That means," Amanda smiled triumphantly. "By default, we go with my idea. Which are the teacups! The _original_ teacups! Once in a lifetime chance, Finn. One chance."

Not being able to say no to Amanda, Finn gave in. "Alright, alright. But I must warn you: being as deathly afraid of all-things-British as I am, the real fear here is whether or not I toss my cookies – well, er, ice cream."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I won't spin the teacup _that_ fast. I just had ice cream too, don't forget, and that's honestly the last thing I want to see on such a perfect night."

Finn tried not to idiotically beam at the word she had used – _perfect_. He rolled it around in his head, rendered the definition. Not even half of the evening been spent yet, and already it was perfect, and he couldn't agree more. She clung to his arm as they trekked to the queue. He dared not admit it, but the close contact – Amanda hugging his arm, practically – made his stomach do flips and his face burn.

Walking beneath Sleeping Beauty Castle, painted in soft shades of pink light and blue, Finn marveled aloud, "Things change a lot in Disneyland, but the castle is always the same. It looks practically the way it does in the future – aside from the different drawbridge and the severe lack of landscaping." He laughed. Amanda joined in, agreeing.

"It's almost like Déjà vu… like we were running right through here only a few minutes ago."

"Hmm, I wonder why." Finn said sarcastically.

Beyond the dark of the drawbridge, beneath the castle entryway, glimmering lights and floating music reminiscent of a carnival could be heard, much the same as before. Finn and Amanda found themselves standing in the midst of Fantasyland – a different land from the one that Amanda was familiar with.

It felt more compact, but far off in the distance, it seemed much more open, which struck Amanda as odd, the sheer juxtaposition of the thought. The exteriors of the dark rides branching out to both her left and right appeared to have more circus-like theming, wrapped in bright colors and stripes and coats of arms. Even stranger, the theming reminded her more of the way the Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom appeared in the present. The Disneyland of the present had a more medieval-vibe, lacking much of the circus-theme that was now evident throughout the land.

King Arthur Carrousel twirled in all of its glistening glory. Piped calliope circus music pumped out and gave an enchanting, merry feel to the night. It was much closer, too. They walked past it, Finn pausing to catch a fleeting glimpse of Jingles. Amanda craned her neck every which way, trying to take it all in, bright lights and all.

Directly behind the carrousel was the Mad Tea Party attraction.

"Huh." Amanda's head tilted to the side. "That is not where I thought it would be."

Finn actually full out guffawed at that. She shot him a glare. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sorry. Yeah, bit of a shock. It was moved in the eighties – the carrousel is actually right there in present-day, now."

"And there's… a _pirate ship_?" Amanda's gaze had lingered beyond that of the spinning teacups, past the pathway, to the small lagoon in the distance that housed a red, black, and gold pirate ship in its waters. It had huge billowing sails of red and white stripes. Above it, pods travelling on cable ropes soared through the air – the Skyway.

"It's a pirate ship _and_ a restaurant. Chicken of the Sea." Finn scrunched up his nose. "I really hate tuna. Had the displeasure of discovering that last trip."

Amanda nodded. She'd have to hear that story sometime soon.

Together, both approached the all-encompassing, circular yellow fence that surrounded the teacup attraction. Pastel teacups of yellow, orange, pink, green, and blue spun and twirled on a blunt red and yellow spiral surface.

They watched as the teacups spun round and round and round, some slow, others faster than Amanda had ever seen. Unlike the Mad Tea Party teacups of the modern day Disneyland, Finn explained, these teacups had no brakes or restraints – meaning, there was no limit on how fast one could choose to spin a teacup.

To their left, the queue for the line began. It wasn't entirely too crowded, but guests filled up most of the space in between the metal railings. Finn's eyes shifted from the people to the spinning teacups, and his face paled.

"You okay?" Amanda put a hand on his arm.

"Great!" He didn't sound to convincing to Amanda. Finn scratched his head – a nervous habit. He gestured wildly to some unknown place. "I'm just, ah, going to find the restroom first." He gave an awkward laugh. A sheepish smile.

It was amazing, Amanda thought. Finn could be so headstrong, so brave, qualities that she found to be quite heroic and one-of-a-kind – rare even. Yet with all those truths about Finn, he somehow managed to be just as awkward and nervous and humble despite. Amanda only found these qualities more endearing. Finn could step up to the role of hero in an instant, but underneath all that was just the reserved, introverted thinker that only meant well. The boy she'd met back in middle school on day one. He hadn't changed much, in all honesty – only grown more into those qualities. He'd do anything to protect his family, his friends, the ones that he loved with his heart of gold. Finn knew how to hold his own, but seeing him blush and stutter warmed Amanda's heart and won it all over again, like he had with his bravery back behind Fort Langhorn on Tom Sawyer's Island all those years ago.

"I'll just wait here, by the fence. I'd rather you take every precaution possible in order for you not to toss your cookies, please." She smiled.

Finn gave her a thumbs up and a brief touch on the shoulder before he went off in search. "Be back in a flash," he called over his shoulder.

She sure hoped so. The first minute was fine. Amanda just people watched – one of her favorite things to do in the Disney parks. People were always doing something hilarious, whether they intended to or not. Groups of girls and gangs of guys wandered the paths, all without dates. Girls laughed and flipped their hair, fixed their dresses; the guys seemed to love striking up conversation and spoke in earnest with whoever would listen. One teenage boy was trying to catch popcorn in his mouth and was failing miserably, the popped kernels littering the concrete.

But aside from the few friend groups meandering around, Amanda eyes fell on endless amounts of couples around as a result of "date nite." They all held hands and laughed and wrapped their arms around each other. But these people, whatever was happening to them now, was in the past. They all belonged here. Amanda suddenly felt like an outsider. She felt alone. She hadn't realized it, but without Finn, she felt a bit lost. Sure, she could fend for herself. She had no problem with that. But it was strange in a different way. Unsettling. Like the way she had felt when Finn had been stuck in the Syndrome for days on end and Amanda couldn't reach him, no matter how much she wanted to.

She wished Finn would hurry back.

"Care for some tea?" A voice suited for radio said.

Amanda turned, resting one hand on the fence. There in front of her was a guy dressed sharply in a suit and blue tie. He had his California blonde hair slicked back paired with a smile so dazzling it ought to have been diamonds, his eyes sapphire jewels. He waltzed up to Amanda and leaned against the fence, not two feet away from her. A few feet off in the distance, a group of three other guys that struck Amanda as similar to him shifted on their feet. They kept casting glances over their way, laughing and whispering behind hands that didn't do a good job of hiding the fact that they were, in fact, laughing and whispering at them.

Amanda had seen, had even been in, a situation like this before. Either this was a dare, this was a joke, or she was expected to swoon and fall into this guy's arms.

She didn't like any of those options.

"No thanks." She said politely, preferring to stop whatever-this-was dead in its tracks.

Just as she was about to step away, he said: "Pretty girl like you shouldn't be alone on a nice night like this." His voice oozed charm, dripped romantic light like that of a crystal chandelier.

He held out his hand. "I'm Ricky."

Amanda figured she'd go the polite route. No need to stir up trouble. Finn would be back any moment now, anyway.

She shook his hand in return. "Amanda." Her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"What d'ya say we go on a walk, maybe stop by Carnation Plaza Gardens for some pop and a dance?" If Gaston had been blonde haired in an alternate reality, Amanda figured that she was talking to him right now.

"Ah, sorry. I'm waiting. For someone."

"No problem! She can come with us too!" Ricky shot a look over his shoulder and pointed at a tall red-head, his face dusted in freckles. "Fred is great on his feet and is quite the talker."

Amanda felt pressure across her bare shoulders. She was just about to whirl around and deck the guy until she saw whose arm was actually around her – Finn.

"No offense, but I'm pretty sure Fred isn't his type." Finn's voice was steely, his gaze determined, all which contradicted the smile painted on his lips. Amanda relished Ricky's reaction as understanding flooded his face, his eyes wide. But rather than offering up an apology, a smirk slowly appeared. That couldn't be good.

"That's alright." Ricky looked over his shoulder and gave a whistle, catching the attention of one of the groupies. He pointed a thumb at Finn. "James. This guy your type?"

The boys were hooting and hollering from only a few feet away, red in the face with laughter as they wiped away tears and slapped at their knees.

"Hell no!" More guffaws.

Finn's grip on Amanda tightened involuntary. They were definitely more human than hologram right now, Amanda realized. She looked up at his face only to see that the friendly smile that had been there moments earlier was now replaced with that of a hard line. She could see the tension in his jaw, the way the muscle in his neck tensed. His eyebrows were low over his eyes. He was biting back a few choice words, Amanda could imagine. She and Finn had encountered bullies all their life – Greg Luowski, the most annoying and persistent of all. Even in the past, it felt much the same.

Ricky hadn't even looked over at Amanda once since Finn had shown up; she wasn't even sure if Finn and Ricky had broken eye contact or _blinked_ , for that matter. A staring contest. Of course. Amanda was _so done_ with the entire thing that she was just about to grab Finn's hand and walk them away when Ricky focused his summer-blue-sky eyes back on her. If he gave her that lazy smirk one more time, if the next thing out of his mouth was anything _but_ an apology, she was going to _push_ him so hard he'd fly all the way to Florida. As in: fairlie push.

While scheming thoughts swirled through Amanda's mind, Ricky seemed to be pleasantly amused by both Finn and Amanda. He looked back and forth from between them.

"Now that this fella is back, how 'bout we all head over to the bandstand? We can take turns." Ricky closed the distance between himself and Finn and nudged him in the side. "Double the fun for the Miss, if you catch my drift."

He shot Amanda a wink.

That was it. Obviously this guy didn't know how to take a hint – they'd certainly given him enough chances to walk away. Amanda was about to push him into oblivion.

Amanda shot a quick glance over at Finn to gauge his reaction, to see what his next move was. From there, she'd determine hers. They always played off of each other. It was part of the reason that both of them were such a good team. There was a glint in his green eyes that hadn't been there before, and the beginnings of a small smile in the crook of his mouth. She knew that look. Finn had a plan. And if it was what she thought it was – she knew him far too well, they'd been best friends for so long – then she'd have the perfect Segway for her plans.

"Double the fun, indeed." Finn nodded. Ricky's eyes lit up: he had finally talked some sense into the guy! "But, not the kind you're probably hoping for."

Finn took his arm off of Amanda and he stepped forward, forcing Ricky to take a step back. Silently, he nodded his head backwards. There it was: her sign of what was to come. She readied herself.

Ricky's eyebrows knitted together. "Excuse me?"

Hearing the sudden alarm of confusion in Ricky's voice, his gang came up behind him and surrounded him: backup. His own legion of goons.

A wicked smirk spread across Finn's face.

"What you gonna do, fella? Deck me? You'll get thrown out of the parks for that – we all will!"

"Not even close."

The four shared another glance of caution as Finn dove for Ricky's neck. Ricky flailed and kicked out, pushing Finn off of him. He punched and jabbed wherever he could make contact, his eyes closed.

"RICKY!" Voices hollered. His friends. He opened his eyes. That punk wasn't anywhere near him – Finn was on the other side of James. _How the hell-?_

He'd been wailing on his own friends. "How'd you do that?"

"I just have great reflexes. Round two?" Finn smiled. That irritated Ricky.

 _Bullies are bullies,_ Finn thought to himself. _No matter what time period it is. They're all the same._ Dealing with Luowski, Finn had perfected the formula for undertaking bullies of any kind, past or present.

A crowd had begun to gather at the spectacle. No doubt, Disney security would be upon them soon. After all, Date Nites had been successfully clean so far – no alcohol or fighting to stain their records. They couldn't let this get out to the papers.

Ricky charged at Finn and aimed for his jaw, going for an uppercut. Finn focused on all-clear as Ricky's hand passed through him; Ricky fell off balance, his feet slipping out from underneath him as he hit the pavement hard. Next, his goons rushed Finn, attempting to pound him but missing every shot. They shot out curses, confused. Humiliation had its way of only egging on anger, and therefore egging on more idiocy and humiliation.

Finn ran right through them. The crowd ooed, ahhed, screamed cheers of delight. The boys screamed out of sheer terror.

"What kind of black magic is that?"

"Ghost!"

Finn stood beside Amanda once again. The boys looked thoroughly frightened, gasping and heaving, out of breath. Finn wasn't even breaking a sweat. He nodded over at Amanda. "Your turn."

She stepped forward, and the goons cowered back.

But Ricky stepped forward, brushed himself off. He looked thoroughly ticked off. "What? Don't tell me you're just like your ghost-boyfriend, over there."

Amanda smiled her most innocent, dazzling smile. Ricky probably would have swooned, had it not been the complete opposite of the situation he had been hoping for. However, after witnessing what he had just witnessed with ghost-boy Finn, Amanda's next words chilled him to the bone.

"Worse."

She pushed out her hands, sheer power and force flying out of them as gravity lost hold and the gale of her force sent the boys tumbling off of their feet. They went flying, tumbling, tripping over the cement. They were the only ones lost in the wind, as other guests around them remained unaffected. As they screamed, guests laughed at the show. Disney certainly had quite the state-of-the-art special effects! They really out did themselves with their technology.

"Consider yourself rejected."

Amanda reached for Finn's hand, and her heart jumped at his touch. He gave a reassuring squeeze and she squeezed back as they ran out of Fantasyland, through the castle gates, away from the crowds.

Finn was beaming. "Your powers," he breathed. "I've never actually gotten to see them – well, see you _use_ them with full control. You're- you're…" Finn gestured, seemingly unable to find the right word.

"A freak?" Amanda laughed.

"Amazing – fairly amazing." Finn was staring at her in a way that he'd never looked at her before – like she was something he couldn't take his eyes off of. "I'm so proud of you."

Amanda had to turn away as they kept running. She only hoped that the dark of the night hid the fierce blush that painted her cheeks and set her heart aflame.


	3. Chapter 3

Off a path from the hub and the Sleeping Beauty Castle, a warm glow caught Amanda's eye: Carnation Plaza Gardens, set alight into a classic white sign with glowing bulbs. Orbs of light hung from white lamps, the white metal holding them aloft seeming to swoop and curl, holding them in place. But most eye-catching of all, aside from the vintage turn-of-the-century feel with which it matched Main Street, was the giant red and white striped tent. The noise that drifted on the wind from the tent was blaring to the sound of trumpets and brass – swing music.

Finn turned down the path, leading them over the small bridge and under the bright sign of red and gold light. A small terrace to the right of the tent held tables and chairs, positioned just in front of a row of windows serving various treats. Finn stopped abruptly in the middle of the terrace. He eased his grip on Amanda's hand, gingerly let her fingers fall out of his. Finn shoved his hands in the pockets of his suit, glancing everywhere but at Amanda – at his shoes, over his shoulder, to the left and right.

"Why are we stopping? Are they behind us?" Amanda turned over her shoulder in a desperate attempt to search for the pursuers, but she couldn't see anything.

Finn huffed a short laugh and scratched the back of his head. "No – nowhere close. I think we definitely scared them off – but it would be best to lie low for a while. No need for the ghost kids to make any more sudden appearances. They probably won't look for us here, anyway. Look around." Finn gestured over his shoulder. " _Tons_ of people. Needle in a haystack. We won't be worth the chase."

Lots of couples milled about, heading inside the tented pavilion or to the lighted windows that wrapped around a far wall to the back right to get a quick refreshment. They all seemed to step around Amanda and Finn, giving them their own circle of space despite how busy it was.  
"This place was next on the list, anyway."

Amanda laughed. "Oh, that's right. You did your research." Amanda's lips twitched in a lopsided smile, more of a smirk.

Finn looked at Amanda. A light seemed to have sparked within him, illuminating him from the inside. "I know this was months ago, now. But I do seem to remember our Prom night cut short…"

Finn noticed Amanda's face seemed to fall slightly at the memory. Not much, but just enough to see her lips begin to fall downwards in the beginnings of a frown. That minor interruption during prom had been the start of the past few chaotic months – those mere moments prior to then, on the dancefloor, had felt like a dream, ages away, too sweet to reach or duplicate with the amount of trauma and loss and endless separation that had befallen upon the Keepers, upon Amanda and Finn. They had survived it all, but it didn't come without sacrifice.

Amanda remembered all too well, that feeling of Finn going off and understanding that he had to go, but selfishly wishing that he had stayed, that they had finished their Senior Prom – they're last dance – together. She'd had hardly a reason to stay after he left. Finn and Amanda had always been the outsiders, not many people ever truly wanting to stick around them – once a freak, always a freak, Amanda remembered sadly.

All this flashed through Amanda's mind in a snap of a second.

Amanda hadn't realized, but she'd stopped looking at Finn, too caught up in her head and the past that lived up there. Instead, she found herself focused on the dim glow of lights beneath the tent, staring off longingly at the couples underneath dancing and jumping and twirling and holding each other as they swayed.

Something shifted out of the corner of her eye. Finn.

His facial features had grown soft, a gentle light in his eyes. He knew exactly what Amanda had been thinking. He felt it too. Finn's mouth curved upwards, revealing a shy smile. He held out a hand.

"Dance with me?"

Amanda glanced excitedly between him and the energy coming from the dance floor. "I thought you'd never ask." She reached for his hand and he held tight, turning as they dashed for the dance floor.

The music swelled in upbeat fashion as they joined the numerous coupled bodies on the floor, shoes clicking on the smooth surface beneath, lights illuminating the dance floor from above. The intense heat of dancing bodies battled the cool night air. The bandstand held live musicians, all with their brass and wind instruments and matching outfits – red suits, white shirts underneath, and black ties. Surrounded by so many people, people who were dressed so differently from what Amanda was used to, she felt as if she had entered another world, which, granted, she had in fact done. A soft glow seemed to come from everything. It was dreamy.

Finn and Amanda merged with the crowd, nudging past couples and groups till they found a fairly unoccupied place to stand, still among and betwixt the throngs of people. It was easier to walk as the song winded down; dancing couples unhinged from each other, clapping their hands in thunderous applause that surrounded them.

The lull in music didn't last long: the band picked things right back up in earnest, a lively, lopsided brass-heavy tune opening. Instantly, the couples surrounding Finn and Amanda laughed and squealed as they were swept up in each other's arms again, eager to dance once more.

Finn gently laid his hands on Amanda's waist, careful to keep some distance between them, as she reached up and wrapped her hands around his neck. Her touch combined with her smiling up at him made Finn feel like his heart might explode.

Most of the couples around them were doing the same, swaying in time to the beat of the song, which Finn took to be a good sign – no need to stick out in a crowd. He certainly hoped Ricky wouldn't be showing up anytime soon.

It was easy to see the bandstand from their spot on the dance floor, tall couples obscuring the view every now and then. Center stage, the lead singer stood, pulling the mic and mic stand toward him; behind him, the band sat on raised rows, their instruments pulsing and moving, already breathing out a steady, upbeat tune.

 _"_ _You,"_ The singer crooned, his voice silky with a hint of heartache. _"You're driving me crazy. What did I do – what did I do?"_

The lyrics instantly struck Finn, took him back to days of the future past, of butterfly-filled-stomachs and shaking hands, of hand holding and running through the dark from danger, of arguing and separating and of missing a girl so much, he thought he might never feel relief, might never fix things with her, might never see her again because he was stuck in a world in which she was not. There were so many times, so many different ways, that Amanda drove him insane – but it just made him love her more.

 _Love._ His heart hammered in his chest.

"Whoa!" Amanda's voice snapped him out of his fond daze as he focused back on her bright face. "Did you see that?"

Finn gave her a confused look.

She nodded her head to her right, Finn following her eyes. A flash of bright cloth, and then an entire person, appeared over the crowd again as a man lifted and spun his girl, surrounding spectators cheering and hollering at the sight. Instantly, other couples on the dance floor mimicked the move, lifted and swung and twirled their dancing partners in a smooth and swift motion.

Amanda seemed completely captivated by the dance move. She looked at Finn with wide eyes, and there it was – that smile that drove him absolutely crazy.

As if on cue, the singer sang, _"You – you're driving me crazy! What did I do? What did I do to you?"_ The brass from the bandstand swelled, as the song transitioned to a softer instrumental interlude, which made it easier to talk and be heard. Amanda and Finn continued to sway and shuffle in a circle to the song.

"Whatever you're thinking, I am _not_ doing that." Finn's wild expression made Amanda laugh, and he joined in. "I can't dance for the life of me as it is – a dance move like that? I'd need _weeks_ of practice before. And if I dropped you, that'd be horrible."

Amanda's eyes sparked with mischief. "Who said you'd be the one doing the heavy lifting?" She unclasped a hand from behind his neck and held it a few inches away from his face, slightly waving it as if to emphasize her point. "I'm the one with the levitation-slash-push powers, remember?"

Finn rolled his eyes, an irritatingly-playful smile spread across his face. "Ah, right. Because using levitation in the middle of a dance floor full of people isn't the least bit noticeable, especially on a night when we've already made a show out of our holograms."

"Of course not!" Amanda lightly punched his arm with her hand. "Maybe next time, a different night."

 _Next time._ Finn felt a rush go through him – did that mean what he thought it meant? That this date wasn't a total disaster, and that she wanted to go on _another_ date?

"But! I can do this," Finn said, grabbing her hand. Amanda giggled as he twirled her in circles. Dizzily, she clung to his hand and clutched at his chest, trying to keep on balance. Finn felt his face grow hot at they're sudden closeness. Amanda, the room no longer spinning, stopped leaning so heavily on Finn and, much to his relief and disappointment, stepped away to their original distance once again.

Neither Finn nor Amanda had even noticed that the music had stopped.

"Alright, everybody! We're gonna switch things up a bit. We'd like to invite you all to dance _La Raspa_! Ready, folks?" The lead singer waved a hand at the bandstand, and they took the signal.

A Spanish-esque melody began, followed by an interval of two drum beats. Although repetitive, it was catchy, and everyone around Amanda and Finn seemed to love it: they all cheered excessively after the first few notes had been played. Not only did they love it, but they all appeared to have it memorized, too - everyone shouted _"Ole!"_ after each measure, in time and in beat with the song.

Small groups had been formed, circles of people spread across the dance floor. Amanda and Finn had been unintentionally sucked into one – rather, it'd just formed around them. Amanda appeared both amazed and startled at the sudden outburst: everyone was dancing the same dance in sync. She felt like a fish out of water. She had no clue what to do.

"Finn," Amanda kept glancing between Finn and the two other couples dancing nearby, trying to catch-on and memorize their moves. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Ah! Well," Finn glanced around, just as lost as Amanda. They were the only two on the dance floor just standing there. A few couples shot them judgmental side glances, but Finn shook it off.

"Just..." He tried to mimic the other couples, shifting on the balls of his feet, hands on his hips, and Amanda tried to mimic Finn mimicking the others. "Clapping… uh, hands on hips…" Finn muttered the checklist to himself, trying to lead Amanda through it while still studying the others around him, as he barely shuffled his feet and vaguely replicated the moves.

But then, right as Finn thought he and Amanda were catching onto it, the dance changed, along with the tune of the song: the couples linked arms with their partners and danced in a circle, then switched directions, skipping around with arms linked counterclockwise to the tune of _Jingle Bells_ , of all things. It wasn't even Christmas.

Finn threw his hands up, frustrated. "Unbelievable!"

"This your first dance?" The couple beside Amanda and Finn had noticed the lost look on both of their faces. They looked to be around eighteen or nineteen. Both had dapper outfits, matching periwinkle, and were clean cut.

"Ah…" Finn didn't want to admit to defeat. He knew what he was doing… or he would, eventually.

"You from out of town, or what? Here – let's give 'em a quick lesson."

Both the girl and boy separated from each other. The boy crossed over to Amanda, while the girl stood in front of Finn.

"I'm Bobby," he heard the boy say.

"Amanda."

He was thankful for the kind gesture, but he couldn't help the twinge of jealousy that shot through him.

"I'm Barbara," the girl in front of Finn said.

"Finn," he said, offering the briefest of nods in return.

Jingle Bells stopped blaring through the brass instruments and the Spanish melody filled with " _Ole's_!" started up again.

"Hands on your hips, shuffle your feet back and forth, like this." Barbara said, balancing her hands on her hips while shifting her weight back and forth between each foot.

"Clap clap!" She instructed.

Trying to keep up with Barbara's instructions, Finn clapped off-beat, struggling with what should have been a very easy dance. He felt uncoordinated. The only thing he could seem to do right was yell " _Ole_!" at the right moment in sync with the crowd.

Barbara continued to coach him through each step in time with the music. "Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle – clap clap! – shuffle, shuffle, shuffle – _Ole_!"

That time, Finn executed the moves perfectly on beat. He glanced over to Amanda to see how she was faring, and she had definitely gotten the hang of it, Bobby instructing her the same way Barbara was Finn. Feeling Finn's gaze on her, she smiled over at him encouragingly.

"Spin!"

"Whoa!" Finn's vision of Amanda tilted and swirled, caught-off guard as Barbara linked her arm through his, spinning him around in a circle. The music began to play another melody that Finn recognized: _"I've been working on the railroad, all the live-long day…"_

"OTHER WAY!" Barbara said gleefully. She was enjoying this _way_ too much. Either she loved taking advantage of uncoordinated dancers and loved to practice her dance-instructor technique on strangers, or she was just this happy all the time.

"Annddd switch!" She sang, moving onto the next boy in the group, dancing the same dance. One of the other girls who had been in their small group before stood in front of Finn, her last partner now with Barbara. Finn wanted to find Amanda, to dance with her. But he knew this was the dance, and it'd be rude to just stop dancing and leave this girl partner-less.

Finn went through the motions of the dance – shuffle shuffle shuffle, clap clap – as he glanced around. Among the crowd, he spotted a silvery dress and dark hair, happy to see Amanda smiling as she danced with another. He made a mental note that as soon as the next refrain ended, when the switching occurred, he'd get close to Amanda again to steal a dance.

He linked arms with the girl as they turned in a circle. The music took on a southern, cowboy sound. Everyone suddenly burst out singing the words, "DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!" at the top of their lungs. Finn nearly jumped out of his skin, it was so loud. More mumbling scattered throughout the crowd, and again, "DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS!"

They weren't even in Texas.

Everyone switched again, and Finn found he was one couple shy of reaching Amanda once more, both of them having moved away from each other on the dance floor due to the previous partner switches. She looked like she was having fun, and that made Finn's heart swell. Her smile glowed from this far off. It was all fun, but he mostly just missed having Amanda by his side, next to him and within hand-holding distance. Being lost in a sea of faces just reminded him that he wasn't anywhere near home – approximately sixty years in the past – and he felt out of place, having experienced it once before without Amanda there. Now he needed her. She was one of his closest friends. She was safe, was his anchor. She was home.

The next minute of the song, Finn didn't hear: he felt his heart hurting and was conflicted by what it meant. Surely, it couldn't be… but no amount of denying it would make it any less true. He felt horrible for being such a bad dance partner to the blonde ponytailed girl before him, but he just couldn't focus. The shifting of feet and the twirling ended, and now within distance, Finn turned and reached for Amanda's hand, hers warm in his own.

"Hi," he said, breathlessly.

"Hi," she smiled back.

Amanda and Finn fell into the rhythm of the song together. Amanda was ever graceful, her dark hair bouncing all around her with every shuffle and jostle of her feet. Her cheeks were warm and full of color, but whether it was from the dancing or her laugher, Finn couldn't tell.

 _"_ _Ole!"_ Finn shouted.

Amanda sucked in laugher, failing at concealing it.

"Hey! Why are you laughing at me?"

"You have the worst Spanish accent I've ever heard in my life!"

Finn shrugged. "I'd have to agree with that."

And the spinning began, Amanda closing the distance between herself and Finn as they linked arms and spun in a tight circle. Amanda's giggles only increased as Finn tried to spin her as fast as possible, both running/twirling around at a faster pace than anyone around them. Unable to catch her breath or even keep up on her feet, Amanda leaned heavily on Finn for support, drunk on laughter and dizziness.

 _"_ _M-I-C! K-E-Y! M-O-U-S-E!"_ The crowd shouted. Finn hadn't even realized that the band was playing the end song for the Mickey Mouse Club; he was having too much fun with Amanda. That tended to happen a lot when he was around Amanda – everything else melted away.

Everyone sang the lyrics at the top of their lungs, lyrics that Finn admittedly didn't know at all, if only vaguely. It was an entirely different generation of Disney, however renowned.

Finn stopped spinning Amanda, both breathing heavily from the rush of it all.

"Last time, folks! Keep on your toes," One of the members of the bandstand announced into the mic.

At his word, the Spanish-esque "Ole!" refrain of the song began, same as always. Since it was the last round, people didn't switch partners: rather, they tried to keep up. The melody was played faster and faster and faster each time; everyone tried to keep pace with the ever-increasing beat, but all failed spectacularly at the shuffling and clapping, including Finn and Amanda who couldn't stop laughing at each other.

"You look like an uncoordinated giraffe!" Amanda shouted.

"You look like a drunk penguin!" Finn retorted, both choking on giggles.

Amanda's dress swooshed about her as she shuffled, and Finn's long legs indeed made him look a bit too tall. As the beat increased, so did the clapping intervals – they became so fast that Finn just ended up clapping obnoxiously the whole way through, embarrassed he couldn't keep up and making a joke out of it.

 _"_ _OLE!"_ Everyone shouted and cheered as the song came to an end, thunderous applause filling the air.

"YEAHHH, MICKEYYYYYYYY!" One voice shouted above the clapping. Hoots and hollers by other young voices followed.

Finn wiped at the sweat that had begun to form on his brow and Amanda fanned herself. The close crowd of bodies only added to the heat of the dance floor. Despite the somewhat simplicity of the dance, Finn felt out of breath, but it was fun. He couldn't remember the last time he had had so much fun; worry and loss and uncertainty had become such a commonplace thing in his life. For once, he felt like his age – a teenager on a Friday night, with no care whatsoever. All that mattered was the music and Amanda, and it felt good to have things feel so normal for a change.

"Thank you very much!" The bandstand leader said into the mic. "Boys and girls, now that everyone's so tired that they can't dance," This won a few chuckles from the audience. "We're gonna slow things down a bit, give you all some time to catch your breaths." With that, he motioned toward the bandstand, and a slow song began. It sounded like the slow push and pull of the ocean, of lazy days and star-filled nights and warm evening air.

"One more dance?" Amanda asked, moving closer beside him. She reached for his hand and laced her fingers through his. Finn felt his heart leap. Despite how exhausted the La Raspa dance had made him, he suddenly felt wide awake – the soft touch of Amanda's fingers was like bolts of electricity flying through his veins. And he would know, having been electrically shocked on more than one occasion by some faulty circuits and actual lightning.

"Of- of course," Finn said. He felt nervous, suddenly – like he was still the gawky middle school boy who was still in denial that he had a crush on one of his closest friends. And he was – only, he'd grown up, in more ways than one. Nerves could only be a sign of one thing: his courage and resolve was fading. Panic rushed through him. All he had to do was avoid conversation, and maybe it wouldn't come up. Maybe his mouth wouldn't betray his heart the way he knew it would before the right moment, before he was ready, before either of them was ready.

In contrast with Finn's now nervous state, Amanda seemed much more relaxed. Without hesitation, she reached up and wrapped her arms around Finn's neck, standing closer to him than she had for the first dance of the night. Finn placed his hands on her hips as they swayed back and forth to the music, lost in thought.

"Tonight has been amazing, Finn." Amanda said sincerely. "This has been the most fun I've had in forever."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it," Finn smiled softly. "Trust me, the past is way better with you here."

"The current _present_ is way better with you here, and not stuck in another coma." Amanda gave a short laugh. She meant to brush it off as a joke, but he could tell there were still some hard feelings, even bitterness, towards the situation.

"Amanda-"

"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up-"

"It's just that-"

"I know, we've talked about it before."

"No, we haven't." Finn said firmly. "Well, not all of it…"

Amanda's eyes stopped glancing around the dancefloor and locked on Finn's.

"You already know that the Keepers and I decided not to tell anyone because we thought it was safer that way. We'd be in and out – quick trip to the past, fix everything, come back, boom. Well, that _had_ been the plan, at least."

Amanda sighed.

"Things got complicated, and our return got put on hold."

"I already know this stuff, Finn." She placed her hands on his shoulders, shaking her head. "Let's just forget I said anything and continue enjoying our date. Really, we can talk about this another time."

"No time like the present. Er, the past." He laugh showed more nerves than he intended.

As stubborn as Amanda could be, she relented. She solemnly nodded her head, prodding Finn to continue.

"We were stupid, Amanda. I know I kind of went into things headfirst without giving a second thought, and I was just trying to keep you safe."

Amanda gave a sharp laugh. "Keep _me_ safe? I am _always_ saving your butt – have been since the first day we met." She smiled fondly at the memory.

"But the thing is, as cool as it was to be there in the past, back in time, back with Wayne, once I realized we were stuck there for longer than intended, I began to feel like-" Finn stopped short. He broke off eye contact, looking down.

"Like… what?" Amanda's gaze was gentle and concerned. She still held onto Finn as they swayed softly.

"The whole time I was there, all I could think about was you." Finn's face had turned soft.

Amanda's breathing seemed to stop. Finn went on, his gentle eyes not wavering once away from her own.

"All I could think about was _you_ , and how I couldn't get back to you, or if I'd _ever_ get back to you, for that matter." The words just started to tumble, tumble, tumble from his lips, and he couldn't stop them. "You were there, and I was here, and I had no clue what to do. It terrified me, Amanda. And then that kiss, where I saw you for a flash of a moment, it _ruined_ me. And I just-"

His voice broke. Thinking of it all again, retelling it all, made those lost emotions he had buried deep down inside just spill over and break open like a dam. He felt vulnerable. But there was no going back now. He cleared his throat, trying to regain some of the composure that he'd lost.

Amanda's face was nothing but gentle and understanding, her eyebrows knit together; however she seemed to be swallowing down words of her own, her face a mirror of the emotions Finn described. Isolation. Worry. It was all there, the pain felt and understood.

"The envelope," Amanda said, returning Finn's monologue into conversation once more. Finn looked relieved that she had, as he relaxed – but not by much. "It had my name on it in the jar that you'd led me to, except usually when one find's an envelope, they expect a letter, or something, inside. But…"

Finn turned sheepish at the mention of the missing letter. "Ha," He laughed. "Yeah, _about_ that…"

Amanda rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance and failing at concealing her joking smile. "There never was a letter, was there?"

"Oh, there definitely was a letter!"

Amanda seemed to perk up. "There was also a picture of you and the other Keepers on opening day, and you had a letter in your hand then. Was that-?"

"No, that wasn't it either."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope, it was actually a note that Wayne left us about the time travel thing once we'd actually time travelled. 'It's about time,' and all that."

"I could've sworn in the picture-"

"That I was looking at you?" Finn smirked.

Amanda slapped his shoulder, Finn wincing at her sudden outburst. "I knew it!"

"I did that because I knew you'd figure it out. So me holding up the note and looking at you was supposed to be a 'Look! We did it! We time-traveled!' victory photo kind-of-thing to show that we made it there okay. Everyone but Willa thought the pose was stupid, but I _had_ to."

"You are such a nerd, Finn Whitman."

Finn shrugged. "Say what you will, but I freaking _time-travelled_. I had to show it off to you somehow!"

Amanda felt heat rush to her face. Finn had pulled off that little photo-op, not only just to reassure Amanda and Jess and Mattie that they'd managed to time-travel successfully, but to impress her.

"That still doesn't explain the _empty envelope_ …" Amanda said, swaying the conversation back on track. After everything he'd done – the heart-shaped note left in his breast pocket, their names carved into a tree – she needed to know.

"I…" Finn seemed to be searching for the right words to say. "I wrote a letter because the mission seemed to be getting worse and worse the longer we stayed there. More dangerous. And after I saw you, I freaked out, to put it lightly."

Amanda nodded. She knew exactly how he felt about the whole thing, because she knew exactly how she felt: it broke her down completely, into nothing more than a puddle of sobbing gasps after seeing his green eyes flutter open for a brief second.

Finn closed his eyes for a moment and took a quick, deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

"I wrote the letter because I realized-"

Thunderous applause broke around them, as the song and it's very long interlude ended, with none other than an assumedly stunning solo that Finn didn't hear. Frankly, he had forgotten that he was even on the dance floor, he had been so swept up in talking with Amanda, dancing on the fringe of the crowd. The band took up playing again – another slow song, the couples dance set of the night not quite finished yet. Finn both hated and rejoiced at it, his heart pounding ferociously in his chest as he turned and swayed in small circles with Amanda.

Amanda waited for the soft lull of the melody to continue before she spoke softly – hesitantly – almost afraid to hear the answer. "You realized-?"

"I love you."

Finn could feel Amanda's fingers tense against the bare skin on his neck. She blinked up at him.

Oh no, Finn thought. He'd done the wrong thing. This wasn't the right moment – he should have waited. The tenth date, probably. Not the first one. Finn suddenly felt the need to explain himself, to find a way to fix the moment before things got awkward.

"I missed you, and I realized how important you were to me. I couldn't put that note in the envelope, Amanda. It felt too much like saying goodby-"

Finn was cut off by Amanda's lips crashing into his, soft and warm against him. The sudden contact made his heart pound louder than any fireworks spectacular in his chest, as he pushed aside his remaining inhibitions. He melted into her.

He felt particularly breathless once they broke apart. Finn searched Amanda's eyes for an explanation, a world illuminated in them – something he remembered about their first kiss (though unofficial, given he was under a spell and she couldn't remember it). He couldn't even get a word out. A small smile was on her face, bright like he'd seen it only a few times before. She was looking at him like he wasn't even real, like he would disappear at any moment. She placed a hand on his cheek and held it there, a resolute sureness in her touch.

"I love you," Amanda said. "I love you, and I never thought I'd get a chance to tell you, because the moment I realized what I wanted to tell you, it was too late." She looked sad at the thought.

Finn felt his heart rise then fall, elated that Amanda felt the same. But he'd caused her some kind of pain, and that made his stomach drop out from under him. "Too late?" Finn whispered, his eyebrows knit together. "Wait. When did you realize-?"

"The Syndrome," Amanda said. "Luowski was trying to kill you, Finn. And he came pretty close. But I couldn't let that happen because then I'd never – you'd never – my powers-" She paused and took a breath, realizing she wasn't making very much sense.

"You have control of your powers now." Finn reminded, still in awe of his best friend and her powerful display from earlier that evening.

"Right. But that's only because I realized I love you the moment Luowski was going to hurt you, and, well…"

Finn's green eyes seemed to widen at the words love, still trying to grasp that he and Amanda felt the same way.

"I guess whenever I used my push in the past, it's been out of fear and anger. Fear that you and the other Keepers might get hurt. Anger at the Overtakers, school bullies, my life. I'd never thought of love."

"Love." Finn repeated, his eyes flickering up and down her face, taking in her caramel skin, the soft wave of her dark hair and the curving bow of her lips. Her eyes were dark blue like the deep of Caribbean waters; he wanted to sink into them, drown in them, wanted to remain lost at sea forever. Before he knew it, he was pulling her close as he leaned into her, one hand on her back while the other reached up to hold her face as he closed the distance between.

Warmth flooded through Amanda, completely surrounded by Finn. It was a kiss gentler than the first, but all the more intense and all-encompassing. He felt lightheaded from the proximity of Amanda – completely intoxicated.

Finn pulled away first and leaned his forehead against hers, hot breath mingling with the cool, coastal California breeze. Amanda closed her eyes, the feel of him comforting. She was suddenly more aware of how tired she was from dancing for so long, but she didn't care; the moment with Finn made her heart swell with a happiness she hadn't thought she'd ever get to experience at all in her runaway life, always on the run from something. But she didn't have to run alone anymore, or even run away like she was so used to doing, because Finn had changed all that.

* * *

The bandstand played their final song, ending with a great flourish of sound. Hands clapped. Hoots and hollers filled the noisy night air as jello-legged teens slinked off the dance floor to find much needed rest.

Amanda and Finn slowly opened their eyes to the sudden loud noise, looking about them. They had spent the rest of the night dancing, growing more and more tired but not wanting to break apart or leave. If this was a dream, neither wanted it to end. So they stayed there on the dance floor, holding each other tight, sleepily swaying around and around. Amanda was all-out leaning on Finn, her head resting on his chest, listening to the soft drum of his beating heart. He rested his chin on top of her head, trying to keep his eyes open. He knew Amanda had had her eyes shut for a while now, feeling the steady rise and fall of her chest against him.

"Amanda," He nudged her silently. "The band's over."

She hugged tighter onto Finn; heat filled his face. "No," She mumbled. "I like it here."

"Are you sure you don't want to sit down?"

"My Finn," She buried her face in his shirt. "My rules."

Finn felt his face flush in a furious blush. _My Finn?_ He bit his lip, knowing Amanda probably hadn't meant to let that slip out. It was rare for Amanda to let her guard down willingly – she must have really been tired.

"Amanda," Finn said again. Although he didn't want to separate himself from her, the bandstand was already packing up. Soon Cast Members would be ushering them off the floor; there were only a few couples left milling about.

He took her by the shoulders, peeling himself away from her so that he could look her in the eyes, which he expected to be shut closed in sleep.

She looked wide awake.

She'd been fully aware of what she'd said, and that sly smile only proved it.

"C'mon," Finn took both of her hands in his in an attempt to lead her off the dance floor.

Her hands slipped right through his.

He turned, perplexed. "Amanda-"

"You're forgetting something." Her eyes were steely.

"I- what?"

"I'm not leaving."

"We have to go. I don't know what I'm forgetting," Finn shrugged, horribly lost and confused. He was pretty decent at being a leader, but when it came to Amanda, he never knew what was right or wrong except that he loved her and that she never failed to drive him absolutely crazy.

"This is the first date."

"Yeah…"

"This is the _first date._ "

What she was implying dawned on Finn. "Oh," he said. "OH."

He walked back over to Amanda, reached for her hand and held it. "Amanda, would you, ah, go out with me again? Sometime?" Finn cleared his throat. "Assuming, you know, you liked this date and don't hate me." He smiled, knowing that they'd practically confessed their love that very night.

Amanda's face lit up, bright like a star. Finn reflected her light like the moon, beaming back at her, both shining inside and out. "Of course." She said, Finn interlacing his fingers through hers, Amanda squeezing his hand just a bit tighter.

He couldn't believe it. After everything they'd been through, to make it this far, to end up where they were now. Everything felt so familiar, yet so completely different.

Together, they walked away from the dance floor, down Main Street, and out of sight - their holograms shimmering like bright, fiery pinpricks of starlight in the dark.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AUTHORS NOTE/EXTRAS:**

I started writing this after the Syndrome, and since then I've read the Return, so some minor details may not match the canon of the book, especially if your reading this story after the trilogy has ended (hi future readers!). So, let's clear some stuff up, if you are as picky as I am with detail (for the most part; if I get some of this logic wrong plz forgive me):

"Night is day, day is night" is how it usually goes in the time-travel of the Return. Cross over on the carousel during the day, end up in the past during the night; cross over during the night, end up in the past during the day. Here in this story, Finn and Amanda cross over at night and end up in the past during the night.

I have no clue if there is a note as mentioned in the Return or if I even guessed right that it's Wayne's as it appears in this story, but I guess I'll find out during the second book. (I need it rn tbh)

The songs mentioned in this are real songs, which can be listened to on the album called "Date Nite At Disneyland With The Elliott Brothers Date Niters Orchestra." It's on YouTube, as well, if you're curious. Songs in order of appearance in the story: 1) You're Driving Me Crazy 2) Mexican Hoe-Down (La Raspa) 3) Pretty much any of the slow songs on the album, such as September Song Medley & Goodnight Sweetheart Medley.

As a follow-up to Finn and Amanda's date based on the Return, Amanda does remember everything even though it's her first time actually time-travelling. Adding this note last-second to the story as a "just-in-case" if anyone was wondering (I can't remember at the moment if I mention it prior, so here you go. And yes I realize I'm probably doing a big writer no-no by saying "THIS IS HOW IT GOES" rather than actually inserting it into the story.) So, she remembers what happens due to the fact that she's a fairlie and isn't a typical case (at least in this story lol). Honestly it would just be horrible if she didn't remember ANY OF THIS so that's the way it's gonna go for now.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a review if you enjoyed! I'll probably have more famanda stories up in the future, as they are literally all I like to write about at the moment. Hope you enjoyed the story! :)


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